December 16, 2023
In a world where musical legends come and go, Jay Z stands as a towering figure, a testament to enduring talent and entrepreneurial genius...
Read moreDecember 16, 2023
Megan Moon, the force behind her self-titled Youtube channel with almost 900,000 subscribers, takes us on a joyful ride in the rap song 'Momma Me Time...
Read moreDecember 11, 2023
Playboi Carti, the sensational rapper who took the hip-hop world by storm in 2017 with his debut mixtape “self-titled” and the viral hit "Magnolia," is back in the spotlight as he hints at...
Read moreDecember 11, 2023
The majority of the music industry, including the rock music industry, is dominated by American artists. Most of the big record label companies are American, famous musical awards shows like the...
Read moreDecember 11, 2023
There are hundreds of music genres, hundreds of thousands of bands, and millions of songs that exist in the world today, and these numbers are constantly growing. In this vast sea of music...
Read moreDecember 6, 2023
Iron Maiden is one of my favourite heavy metal bands, and is one of my favourite musical groups overall as well. With their theatrical performances, complex musical arrangements and iconic songs...
Read moreDecember 6, 2023
In a surprising turn of events, Lil Uzi Vert, the revolutionary Philadelphia rapper, has announced that their upcoming album, "Luv Is Rage 3," will mark the end of their prolific music career...
Read moreDecember 2, 2023
There is a vast amount of variety when it comes to genres, sub-genres, and styles of music. Normally, when two musical artists collaborate to create a new song, the individual artists both produce...
Read moreNovember 29, 2023
In a groundbreaking turn of events, the eagerly anticipated music extravaganza, Sick New World, following last year returns to the city of Las Vegas on April 27, 2024...
Read moreNovember 29, 2023
Two years ago today, the fashion world lost one of its brightest stars, Virgil Abloh, at the young age of 41. A trailblazing designer known for his groundbreaking work with Off-White and Louis...
Read moreNovember 29, 2023
One of the most iconic and well known genres of music is rock. It has been around for many decades, and it continues to evolve to this day...
Read moreNovember 28, 2023
Keinemusik, an innovative music-creator collective from Berlin, represents a distinctive movement in the electronic music scene. The group's name, which translates to "no music" in German, embodies...
Read moreBMI
Songwriters, composers, and publishers have long been underpaid when it comes to the live concert industry. However, a successful court case may be the first step to changing that.
On March 28, Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) won its federal rate court case against Live Nations, AEG, and the North American Concert Promoters Association (NACPA). The win results in an increase in the live performance revenue rate and base for songwriters, composers, and publishers.
Before we get into the details of what BMI’s win entails, let’s start with who BMI is.
According to their website, BMI was founded in 1939 and is the largest music rights organization in the US. BMI wants to be the “bridge between songwriters and the businesses and organizations that want to play their music publicly.” They represent over 20.6 million musical works from more than 1.3 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers.
Needless to say, BMI is pushing for big changes in the live music industry. So what has their latest win resulted in?
For context, from 1998 to 2017 the revenue rate these groups were paid by promoters was as follows:
Now, these rates have changed to the following:
Furthermore, this new revenue rate and base also apply to the period of mid-2018 through Dec. 31, 2022.
“This is a massive victory for BMI and the songwriters, composers, and publishers we represent. It will have a significant and long-term positive impact on the royalties they receive for the live concert category. We are gratified the Court agreed with BMI’s position that the music created by songwriters and composers is the backbone of the live concert industry and should be valued accordingly. Today’s decision also underscores BMI’s continued mission to fight on behalf of our affiliates, no matter how long it takes, to ensure they receive fair value for their creative work.” - Mike O’Neill, BMI President.
Unfortunately, BMI’s results fell short of what they originally wanted. The changes that were rejected include:
Despite its full request not being fulfilled, BMI’s win was a step in the right direction for recognizing the important work of songwriters, composers, and publishers.
If you’d like to read more details on the case, check out Billboard’s article here!